Tempus Temporis
by Marohi
Summary: A year after the events in Duelist Kingdom, the terrible power of an ancient sword is accidentally awakened in a chance encounter with a Millennium Item. Anyone who touches it becomes the target of the malevolent weapon and the spirits it contains.
1. Tossing the Glove

Note from the Authors: We wrote this fanfic strictly for fun and as a break from each of our jobs. We have not seen all of Yu-Gi-Oh nor have we read all the manga, so we're guessing on much of this. Please feel free to let us know what you think of this, we are extremely difficult to insult. ^_^ Thank you! 

* * * * * * 

**Yu-Gi-Oh: Tempus Temporis**   
Version 2.0   
By Jinx&Jedi 

.:: Chapter I - Tossing the Glove ::. 

_ Los Angeles, California_   
_ Wednesday, October 23, 2002_

The late afternoon sunlight streamed through the high windows of the pavilion and between the graceful lines of steel and stone. Its twin circular towers rose stylishly against the azure sky and the glass of the connecting structure between them reflected the gently swaying palm trees and parking lot like a colossal piece of modern art. The building was study in efficient yet elegant design and a testament to recent technological advancements all rolled into one breathtaking complex. It was a cool day for the Los Angeles area and blustery; the wind stirring up brief eddies and whorls where it ran headlong into the glass and steel facade, tossing up the dust and debris endemic to metropolitan areas worldwide.   
It certainly would be interesting to see how the _Duel Monsters_ Tournament would go tomorrow; he had had his doubts when he arrived but now he was positive the Convention Center would be able to handle the rigorous demands of the sophisticated holographic technology. Today, however, was an auction for none other than Industrial Illusions. One could assume it was being held here in hopes of drawing the duelists who had already arrived for the tournament tomorrow. Its objective couldn't get much more overt since a huge portion of the items were _Duel Monsters_ paraphernalia; and, if the rumors were to be trusted, there were going to be some excruciatingly rare cards up on the auction block.   
Seto Kaiba stretched and then refolded his arms across his chest as the auctioneer appealed for higher and higher bids for a massive, abstract painting that used to hang in the lobby of Industrial Illusions before they acquired the. . . unconventional sculpture that decorated the hall currently. Fortunately it was the last piece of _et cetera_ before they got down to the meat of the auction. Although he knew intellectually that the painting was a piece of fine art; he couldn't help but compare it to some of Mokuba's better scribbles. He could, at the very least, generally tell what those were supposed to be. In fact, at the urging at one of KaibaCorp's decorating consultants, he'd had a few of those better scribbles framed and hung in a couple hallways. Of course, the ulterior motive to this was to make the company look more "family friendly." While he could care less if the company appeared that way or not, he never minded doing something that made his little brother feel happy and worthwhile.   
". . . I have nine-hundred-fifty; do I hear a Thousand? One-Thousand? Nine-hundred-fifty going once - nine-hundred-fifty going twice. Sold: For Nine-hundred-fifty dollars!"   
And with that, the painting was marched off the dais and to the claim area. He couldn't have been happier. So far the auction had dragged; very few of the items were getting bids so far and the crowd was slowly shrinking as time wore on. One could almost hear the group sigh of relief from the room as they finally reached the scheduled break before they got down to business.   
"Now, Seto?"   
"Not yet, Kiddo. They're going to do an intermission."   
Mokuba groaned and slumped back in his chair.   
"They have to let the buyers move in to claim their... treasures too." The older woman next to Mokuba winced expressively.   
Seto Kaiba snorted a quick chuckle, before rising slightly to once more scan the crowd as a fair portion of the assembly slowly filed out. A surprising amount of the faces or backs of heads he could see belonged to the dueling elite - champions, former champions, up-and-coming Yugi wannabes, surprise winners, regional, national, and international alike, and many more whose status in the Tournament circuits could be measured only by their presence at this auction. Seto gritted his teeth as he heard Weevil Underwood's irritating voice rise above the din. He'd already spotted Rex Raptor, and Bandit Keith and his cronies had already gotten aquatinted with his personal bodyguards. Not that he wasn't surprised, they wouldn't dare miss an auction of this caliber. He had some doubt about the presence of Mai Valentine and Mako Tsunami, since they were both slated to be exhibitionists at a tournament in Sendai yet this weekend. To be perfectly honest he wasn't looking for them _per se_ - it was still satisfying to know who was attending - but he was searching for Pegasus or even a lackey or two.   
"Seto?"   
"Yes?" He glanced at his brother's curious face only momentarily as he sat back down slowly; his gaze never leaving the direction of Weevil's screech somewhere down the aisle to his left.   
"Do you really think Pegasus is in trouble?"   
"As far as I know, yes."   
"Good." Mokuba said in cold satisfaction, returning his attention to playing with a fraying thread under the seat of his chair as he swung his feet to kick the chair legs.   
"Industrial Illusions is having their accounting practices scrutinized by the Government; not to mention the IRS has made some formal inquires recently." The woman next to Mokuba reiterated softly, "I would imagine this is a form of damage control."   
Mokuba scowled and muttered crossly that Pegasus deserved it before sliding off his chair to sit on the floor. He opened his day-pack and began boisterously sorting through the contents.   
Kaiba glanced back at her thoughtfully, "I have to agree, Mizuko. He's getting desperate."   
She nodded and returned her attention to watching the crowd as well. Mizuko was a "shirt-tail" cousin of theirs' and had been serving as his secretary while here in the USA. She was distant enough to have absolutely no claim to KaibaCorp beyond her employment in the Los Angeles Office as a secretary but yet close enough to still call family. She was middle aged and slightly overweight, her dark hair was beginning to gray and the changes in sight brought on by age had caused her to have to wear glasses. She had so far been a gracious and surprisingly informative host, though she spent way too much fussing over them. Though good-intentioned, she was beginning to become a little aggravating.   
He rose back up slightly as he saw some motion off the dais, but was disappointed when the person proved to be one of the Convention Center's employees.   
Another patented Weevil nerve-jangling screech was belted out from somewhere in the throng: "What do you mean he isn't here?!"   
Seto sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose between his fingers momentarily before reaching inside his black sports coat, searching within the left, breast pocket to reassume himself that the claim slips were safe and secure inside. Satisfied, he crossed his arms back over his chest and tried to be patient. Not an easy proposition when he kept finding himself unconsciously grinding his teeth.   
"Mokuba, are you sure you want to plug yourself into a movie?" Mizuko advised his little brother as he slid back up onto his chair, tightly clutching a portable DVD player and a wallet of DVDs,"The_ Cap Monster_ things you wanted are next up with the other gaming paraphernalia."   
"But I'm bored!" Mokuba protested peevishly and regardless of the advisement, unzipped the wallet and began flipping through the DVDs.   
Kaiba leaned over, plucked the wallet from his brother's hands, and rezipped it, "Just hang in there, Mokuba. As soon as they get past the _Duel Monsters_ cards I want - we're gone."   
He glanced up briefly, did a double-take, and then tossed the wallet back in the general direction of the day-pack as he rose to his feet. Weevil was approaching them in an outfit that was nowhere near tasteful nor the semi-casual dress required for the occasion. Frankly, he was positively frightened at what Weevil would have worn had this been a Black-tie event. Somewhere or another, he had found a jacket to a tuxedo from the nineteen-seventies in the closest color to an lime green as physically possible. The greenish-tan slacks, red-plaid bow-tie, and Weevil's classic glasses finished the effect: all Kaiba could think about was the bathrooms at a major university after a party night. Then again, in all great probability Weevil probably thought it made him resemble one of his insects.   
"Kaiba." Weevil greeted with that same, irritating, screechy tone. He was trying his best to appear friendly, though the closest he came was a state oily that teetered precariously on the edge of infuriating.   
"Underwood." Kaiba forced out through gritted teeth, nodding his greeting.   
Weevil wrung his hands together while he grinned in a way he probably thought would help psyche him out - too bad it only contributed to an effect already unappealing but not in the least intimidating, "I'm not surprised to see you here. Had to get a piece of the action too, I bet?"   
"Don't kid yourself, Underwood. Bidding is going to run high - very high when it comes to the cards." Kaiba growled. He avoided his usual insults, he doubted he could take Weevil's voice for long and the last thing he wanted was to be thrown out - or worse - for introducing Weevil to his fist. He had exactly five cards he wanted from this auction, so long as he got those, he could leave with nothing else and be ecstatically happy.   
Weevil giggled, a sound Seto could rather have done without, "Going to push the bidding up, huh? Not that I blame you. Afterall, you've bought your way into other tournaments before. Whatever gets you the win, right?"   
Kaiba shrugged and grunted noncommittally as he thought, _'Screw the cards. If Weevil leaves within the next thirty seconds, I'll be ecstatically happy.'_   
Weevil giggled again, "Well, I know what cards you're going to want. Dragons or the most powerful and rare cards there are. You're so predicable."   
"Really?" The word was dripping with sarcasm, but he doubted Weevil would catch it, "You think?" Seto abruptly had the sudden visualization of himself kicking the dirty little weasel where it truly counted. It wouldn't be hard either. With his height - or lack thereof - his crotch was low enough he wouldn't even need a very high kick. _'I suppose you'd be real surprised at what I'm thinking right now.'_   
At that moment, his salvation came in the form of his pager vibrating. He dug it out from it's home in his pocket with his money clip, glanced quickly at the number, and tucked it back inside his dark gray slacks. "If you'll excuse me, I have a very important call I need to make."   
Without even waiting for Weevil to respond, Kaiba turned and made a carefully paced retreat up the aisle and through the doors in a brief opening as the sea of humanity made its way back inside the auction hall. He spotted a quiet spot behind a support column and half hidden behind a large crate stamped with KaibaCorp's logo. In all honesty, it wasn't an important call at all, just simply the restaurant he'd made reservations with making certain he would indeed be making it for this evening. On the other hand, even a crank call at that point would have been a welcome escape.   
By the time he returned, Weevil had returned to his seat, the first item from the _Cap Monsters_ was bring brought out, and - much to the amusement of many - Mokuba had jumped up to stand on his seat and was bouncing in anticipation.   
". . . looks like someone's excited about this item!" The auctioneer was chuckling to the crowd, motioning to a framed and signed copy of a _Cap Monsters_ poster.   
Seto slipped back down the aisle, acutely glad they'd sat at the end of a row. He pulled Mokuba back down into a seated position as he himself sat down. His little brother barely missed a beat as he shucked his sports coat - an exact, but smaller duplicate of his big brother's - and got back up to kneel on his chair. Mizuko leaned over, picked up Mokuba's jacket, and folded it across her lap.   
As the auctioneer read off the description and information about the poster Kaiba reached over and slung his arm around Mokuba's neck and shoulders, pulling him close, "Remember what I told you." He whispered in his little brother's ear as he tucked the tags back inside the neck of the child's turtleneck. The tags were fished back out within a split second, but at least he still had his attention, "This is _your_ money, don't waste it on one thing unless you absolutely can't live without it."   
Mokuba nodded and braced himself on his brother's shoulder as he rose up just a little higher to see. Seto reached up once more and tucked the tags back inside the neck of Mokuba's charcoal colored turtleneck; only to have his own tags yanked up a moment before the younger Kaiba's tags were fished back out as well. He shook his head in amusement as his little brother blew him a very large, very wet raspberry before returning his rapt attention to the poster as bidding began.   
The _Cap Monsters_ part of the auction went quickly, it wasn't a surprise there was only a few sparse items before it jumped to _Dungeon Dice_ and then finally _Duel Monsters_. Mokuba ended up with three _Cap Monsters_ items: two rare, five-monster sets and one rare promotional poster. Pleased with his purchases, he'd plugged himself into a movie and hadn't spoken since.   
For all the anticipation for this part of the auction, Seto was officially disappointed. So far, the only items that had caught his eye were a set of relics that had clearly provided the impetus for some of the accessory cards and a box of supposed prototype cards, all of which were now his. Everything else he either already had or wasn't worth his time and energy to try outbidding the other duelists; most of whom seemed genuinely thrilled by the items.   
There was a antique glove which, allegedly, was the inspiration behind the design for the Duelist Kingdom Dueling Gloves. If it hadn't been so ugly and expensive, he might have been interested. However, he simply couldn't rationalize spending one-thousand American dollars on a souvenir from an experience that unpleasant. Apparently the other duelists felt this way as well because it received no bids whatsoever. There were costumes for some of the humanoid monsters but none of them were that spectacular, despite the high bids some of them got. He had a brief, fleeting urge to bid on the "Dark Magician" costume just so he could compare it to what he might get if he posted an anonymous challenge online at a cosplay message board. There was a "Red Eyes Black Dragon" and the various fusion cards that went with it, but again - he already had one and even had some better fusions and possible augmentations in his current deck. Other cards were rare and potentially powerful, but wouldn't be that magnificent in play unless the duelist's name just happened to be Yugi Moto.   
Seto had begun to wonder if Pegasus had changed his mind about including the cards or if the rumors had been false; the "Toon World" cards and other newer prototypes were the main draw for this auction. Perhaps the tournament circuits had protested loud enough or had arranged a deal to have the cards purchased and destroyed. He was starting to find his attention drawn towards Mokuba's movie as time drew on, but forced himself to pay attention as best he could. They brought out prototypes to the line of _Duel Monsters_ action figures that now would never be produced, along with rare model kits, life-size, cardboard stand-ups, super-deformed plushies, and other assorted toys. One of the more exciting sequences of Mokuba's movie finally drew his attention away, despite his vain attempts to pay attention. He finally ended up stealing one of Mokuba's earphones and turning the volume up fairly loud to compensate. Mokuba eventually pulled his legs up onto his chair and leaned over to rest against his big brother. Kaiba draped his right arm around his little brother and gently took the DVD player from him to hold it between them.   
The movie was reaching it's exciting climax, drawing his focus deeper and deeper into it. As such, a sharp poke to Kaiba's shoulder produced a jerk of surprise and caused him to nearly strike his assailant, but the motion freed the earphone from his ear in time to hear:   
". . . dollars! Sold: The "House of Sticky Tape" card from the unreleased "Toon World" card set."   
As he lowered his hand from the strike he'd almost completed, he caught Mizuko's hand and squeezed it apologetically. He took a deep breath and bent forward as he scrubbed his face with his hands. Mokuba's eyes were still wide in alarm; he had been startled out of a half-sleep when he had felt Seto's involuntary jolt. Kaiba reached over and rubbed Mokuba's back a little to reassure him. He blinked repeatedly to wake himself as one of the Auction's runners hurried down the aisle to take a claim slip from a young, brunette woman.   
_ 'Well, at least I know who won it. I'll offer to buy or trade it from her later...'_ He thought irately to himself.   
Infuriated with himself, Seto made certain he missed no other "Toon World" cards by making Mokuba take care of the DVD player. Instead of protesting, Mokuba dropped it into his day-pack, leaned back against his side, and attempted to take a nap; too bored and tired to care that he had been compelled to put his movie away under duress. Seto won the bids on the rest of the set after he raised his bid on the "Toon World" card in quick succession, quickly taking the price out of the range of what most duelists could afford. Most of the other duelists stopped trying to bid on them after that point, afraid of what Kaiba might do - or what they thought he might do - should he not get the win. The only card he had trouble winning was the "Blue Eyes Toon Dragon" card; most everyone wanted that card, but again his budget allowed him to quickly outbid the other interested duelists. He felt a brief pang of guilt as he realized that he was actually helping Pegasus get out of trouble by doing that, but it was quickly eclipsed by the satisfaction that he would probably never have to deal with one of little, inane rejects from a Saturday morning cartoon ever again.   
Satisfied and exhausted, Kaiba took a quick inventory of the small backpack while he repacked it before he tenderly shook Mokuba awake. The auction wasn't over by any means, but he'd gotten what he came here for. As nice as this complex was, he was sick of it for the moment.   
"Are we going now?" The younger Kaiba murmured sleepily as Mizuko helped him into his jacket.   
"Sure are, Kiddo," Seto nodded as he picked up his briefcase and Mokuba's day-pack in the same hand, wiggling his fingers to indicate he wanted Mokuba to take his hand. "Finally."   
Down the aisle he heard the distinct sound of flesh striking flesh, followed by Weevil's yelp. Smirking, he watched the young woman who had won the bid on the "House of Sticky Tape" snatch up her things and stalk darkly out of the hall. The looks Weevil was getting from nearby individuals who had seen the woman's reaction was simply priceless.   
"Hell hath no fury - I like her!" Kaiba chuckled to Mizuko, "Follow her: Offer to buy or trade the card. Offer her one of my _Duel Disc_ systems if you have to, I don't care what it takes, just get it."   
"Will do." Mizuko replied before hurrying off after the girl at a rapid half-walk.   
Seto tugged his younger brothers hand and started after her at Mokuba's drowsy pace, carefully guiding him around the back of the next row of seats and to the least busy of the doors. Mokuba was barely awake, he didn't even need to look at him to tell that. The younger Kaiba kept drifting from side to side as he walked, occasionally bumping into Seto. He got outside the room and almost to the exit when he heard a familiar voice from down the hall. Mizuko was leading the young woman to him, but behind them he saw an oddly familiar man duck out of another exhibit hall. A small part of him raised a curious mental eyebrow at the old, bright green raincoat over the casual, yet shapely wine-red gown, but sternly pushed the thought to the back-burners of his mind.   
"See that he gets to the limo safely." Kaiba stated, handing Mokuba off to one of his bodyguards along with the day-pack and briefcase. "I'll be right back."   
He started off at a fast walk, trying to keep the man in sight. The young woman side-stepped to intercept him, her face expressing her annoyance as she started to open her mouth to say something. Kaiba grabbed her shoulders and moved her gently but swiftly out of his way. "Hold that thought, I'll be right back." He blurted hurriedly, holding his hands up in a placating gesture.   
The man was almost out of sight; Kaiba broke into a flat run, dodging vendors who were already setting up for tomorrow. One of the KaibaCorp employees in charge of setting up the dueling platforms started for him, but Kaiba evaded him like a professional athlete going for the goal.   
From a smaller entrance, he spotted a flash of white hair.   
Kaiba glanced at a map of the complex as he passed and guessed they were headed for the Concourse Meeting Room. Keeping a wall of people and vendor stands between himself and his quarry, he hurried after they as quickly as possible. Eventually the crowds thinned out and Seto was forced to make the best out of his ability to move quickly and quietly to close the distance. He stopped just shy of them, listening to make certain he wasn't going to make an hasty and embarrassing mistake of judgment.   
"Are you going to stay for the tournament tomorrow, Mister Pegasus? The media is already asking for interviews." An aide was asking, holding out a clipboard with forms for Pegasus to sign.   
_ 'Jackpot!'_ Kaiba thought with diabolical glee, trying his best to slow his breathing down some so he could talk properly.   
"No, I won't be attending. With Seto Kaiba here . . ."   
"You rang?" Kaiba purred in derision, crossing his arms nonchalantly over his chest.   
Pegasus froze in mid-step, the man he had recognized turned and scowled at him through a set of dark sunglasses. He almost laughed as he realized that the man was Pegasus's subordinate Kimo, though he had exchanged the chiseled haircut for a cut almost short enough to be considered a "butch."   
"You look good, Kimo, loose a fight with a razor?" Kaiba commented coolly, approaching Pegasus's back.   
"Sir, do you want me to deal with him?" Kimo growled. If looks could kill, Seto was positive he would have been vaporized.   
"No. . . that's all right." Pegasus forced out through gritted teeth. When he turned, his voice was as cool and oily as always, "Hello, Kaiba-boy. Good to see you. I hear you made me a richer man - and here I thought you hated cartoons."   
Kaiba laughed sardonically, "You'd like that, wouldn't you? No, I plan to simply keep them so they won't be used against me ever again."   
"Delightful." Pegasus's surviving eye narrowed contemptuously while his new, glass one just stared at him through his hair. "Now why don't you go play while Uncle Pegasus meets with the other grown ups."   
Kaiba almost argued that he was frequently more mature than one-eyed, blond man, but inspiration struck first. He felt his mouth quirk before he lapsed into a falsetto, "Swure will, Wunkle Pwegasus. You hwave a goo-goo-goo-good auwedit!" He had to stop to swallow a laugh before returning to his normal speech, "Let me know how it goes, I have the names of some good accountants and financial attorneys."   
Pegasus's cultured face had gone ugly halfway through Kaiba's feeble attempt at a "Porky Pig" impersonation: he looked like he was trying to come up with a comeback but was failing miserably. An employee from Industrial Illusions who looked like he was already at the edge of a nervous breakdown carefully skirted them, pushing a cart leaden with items left over from the auction. Kaiba smirked, kissed the air, and then saluted Pegasus with his middle finger before turning to walk back towards the two women he'd left standing in the lobby.   
He heard a crash, a rattle, and spun in place to face Pegasus again. His right arm snapped up instinctually, turning as it rose so he was presenting a target of intersecting bone to whatever was hurtling at him. It struck his arm, stinging sharply even through two layers of material. It started to fall, but his right hand deftly snapped down to catch it.   
Kaiba glanced at the object that Pegasus threw at him: it was that ugly glove he hadn't wanted to buy. "Wow! How generous of you!" He gushed sarcastically, "Thank you so much, Pegasus! I have no use for it, but I supposed Yugi might like it. At the very least he could sell it for Tuition mon-"   
The door to the Concourse Meeting Room thunderously slammed shut, leaving him alone with a stunned Industrial Illusions employee and an overturned cart.   
Kaiba smirked and tossed the glove up and caught it once more. Slowly the humor of the situation registered. He snickered. The sound reverberated loudly in the space; he laughed but snorted. And that was all it took. He surrendered to hysterical laughter, staggering over to a wall to support him while he guffawed. It took him several long moments to regain control as the laughter bubbled up from the pit of his stomach and spilled tears from his eyes.   
Finally reduced to giggles, Seto tugged the decorative handkerchief from his pocket and mopped his face off before turning to walk back to the ladies. As far as he was concerned - even if the woman was unwilling to sell the card - his night was complete. 


	2. Exhibition

**Yu-Gi-Oh: Tempus Temporis**   
Version 2.0   
By Jinx&Jedi 

.:: Chapter II - Exhibition ::. 

_ Los Angeles, California_   
_ Thursday, October 24, 2002_   
The dark, dismal night faded slowly away into a gloomy, overcast dawn over the city of Los Angeles. Thunderstorms had raced in from the sea in long squall-lines during the night, scouring the city with sheets of torrential rain. They had tapered off as morning came; storms turning into thick, misty fog that seeped through anything in it's path - even the thick walls of the hotel. Mokuba and he had woken up feeling chilled despite their suite's advanced heating and cooling system and the luxurious beds and bedding. Halfway through breakfast the mist turned to drizzle, and from drizzle to a steady shower. As he was shaking out his umbrella for the short walk to the Los Angeles Convention Center the rain made its final transformation, this time into a heavy downpour. It would be a clear day today if the storms cleared, but the reports on the television indicated nothing but rain.   
Kaiba gazed dispassionately out in the deluge, regretting his decision to forgo the limousine or a taxi for a short, brisk walk to the Los Angeles Convention Center. He sighed a noisy nasal growl, but otherwise said nothing. He had pretty much stopped swearing over the little things over the past months, choosing instead to save them for times he particularly needed them to underscore a statement. The abnormal, giddy, screwball mood he had found himself in last night had faded overnight and left him feeling drained and apathetic.   
The young CEO braced himself as he shoved the doors open, jerking the umbrella open as he went through. A gust of wet air hit him full in the face, ruffling his hair and the lapels of his black trench coat as the spray made a crackling sound as it struck the mahogany-colored leather of his briefcase. He grimaced and began to walk, holding up his collar in a vain attempt to keep the spray from rolling down his neck.   
"Seto! Wait up!"   
_ 'Hmm . . . let me think . . . no!'_ Kaiba thought, breaking into a brisk pace.   
"Seto!" The girl yelled again, he could hear her footsteps drumming wetly against the sidewalk, "Wait!"   
Kaiba rolled his eyes irreverently as he turned and stopped; people were starting to stare.   
She skidded to a soggy stop in front of him, but remarkably managed not to splash him. Grinning from ear to ear, she readjusted the hood of her bright green raincoat to recover her hair, breathing hard from her brief sprint, "G'morning Seto!"   
"Tennant." Seto frostily nodded his greeting as he turned to continue walking.   
The young, brunette woman fell into step at his side, her hands jammed into the blocky pockets of the slicker. Kaiba searched his mind for her name but failed; she wasn't in his Dueling League nor even his league as a duelist. He rarely remembered names of those he usually would never encounter in a duel, and even less to those he knew would never win against him - it simply wasn't worth it. He usually just memorized their surname and called it good. She was still breathing hard, but to her credit was regaining her breath faster than many duelists he'd met. She kept brushing her hair out of her face as the wind caught them, blinking away the spray that drifted and swirled through the air.   
Impatient, Kaiba increased his pace slightly, "Yes?"   
"Oh, I just wanted to walk with someone."   
Seto snorted, "Really? Afraid you might get lost?" He swept his briefcase to a skyline dominated by buildings framing the massive complex like a painting, his index finger and thumb indicating the way.   
It was her turn to snort, "No, but if this were a Role-playing Festival I could safely say I was looking for a knight to protect me from _Bandits_."   
Kaiba felt his mouth quirk, "Then I guess you're quite popular around here, --?"   
" - Autumn." She finished for him.   
"Autumn." He finished, "And you think I'm that knight? How charming."   
"Tall, dark, handsome . . ." She interrupted lightly.   
"Delightful." He muttered sarcastically as increased his pace another notch.   
"I also wanted to thank you again for dinner last night. Did you have a good night?"   
Seto nodded his answer. Last night, after the incident with Pegasus, he had treated her to dinner at the restaurant he had made reservations with. It had smoothed the feathers ruffled by Weevil's immaturity and had paved the way for him to discuss the sale of the "House of Sticky Tape" properly. Sometimes he loved being the Champion of a game as renowned for its psychological encounters as it was for its monsters.   
"Anyroad . . . are you Dueling today? I'm in Group Eight since I don't have a ranking in this League yet. I'm a little nervous: _Exodia_-based decks are really popular now. I find it hard to believe that with so many people not liking the _Time Magician_ since it relies on chance that so many would think _Exodia_ is so much better. What do you think?" Autumn paused as she sidestepped a puddle, "Yugi Moto really did something when he beat you using _Exodia_. I'm confident Duelists are trying to find combinations to make drawing him easier. Would you mind looking at my deck for me? Like I said I'm really nervous -"   
". . . Do they ever shut up on your planet?" Seto's lip curled as he turned and held his arms outward in exasperation. He leaned down until face was scant inches from hers as he lowered his voice threateningly, "I am Seto Kaiba in case you missed that. I'm _not_ playing tutor to the amateurs and I am _not_ discussing current strategy nor the intricacies of deck construction with you. If you want an escort: Shut up and walk."   
Autumn muttered an apology and something about it being due to her nerves, falling silently into step a few paces behind him. The rest of the walk was done in a silence comfortable for him, although he could almost feel her straining against it.   
When they reached the Center, he held the door for her to permit her to enter first. There was no sense in earning another aggravating, maternal lecture from Mizuko; though he was becoming rather fond of her in an odd way. As soon as they were inside, Kaiba grunted a "good luck" to Autumn and began to stalk away through the vendor booths and steadily growing crowd for the South Exhibit Hall. Turnout was going to be surprisingly good for this event, despite its relative unimportance in the Circuits.   
"Will you at least watch me duel?" Autumn called after him, her voice pitched to the brink it almost made her sound desperate.   
"No." He yelled above the din without even turning around. His security people moved away to flank the door as he approached, not needing to see a badge to confirm his identity.   
"Seto?" Came the final, pleading call from her as the door closed behind him with a satisfying click.   
Kaiba sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose momentarily before he removed his damp trench coat and draped it over a folding chair and leaned his umbrella against the wall nearest the door he had entered through. He yanked the chair over to sit in front of the umbrella and nodded to the KaibaCorp Security Guard standing nearby. The South Exhibit Hall was huge, though within hours it would likely seem tiny. The ceiling had been quoted as being about forty feet high and the space at nearly three-hundred, fifty-thousand square feet in size.   
Hi-low's were buzzing around the hall like a swarm of humongous, mutated mosquitoes as they delivered pieces of KaibaCorp's prized Holographic Dueling Platforms to their various locations around the hall while others hauled misshapen bundles of pipe and flat, metal pieces that were supposed to assemble into bleachers.   
One Platform was nearing completion, it's projectors already glowing as they ran through the montage of tests Kaiba himself had decreed as standard. At the moment they were displaying a shifting array of fields while a colossal, three-dimensional progress bar turned slowly as it checked its internal operating systems and file directories. It rose up to seventy-five percent and then dropped back to thirty before rejumping again to fifty-five before dropping once more. It was a classic sign of a corrupted file or damaged hardware where the platforms' systems were concerned.   
An obscene roar rang out from the floor surrounding the platform, guaranteeing that whoever handled the fragile chipsets and drives without gloves was going to be in a whole world of trouble. Kaiba winced; he preferred that such words be kept to a minimum in a venue like this. All it took was the right person to hear it and he'd be on the receiving end of all kinds of flack. However, he had to give the new Technical Department Head credit: he got the work done and usually right the first time. Besides, how many events was he let out of his cubicle or the workshop for? Kaiba shuddered as he remembered the event itinerary for this year and decided that _that_ particular thought should be banned.   
Seto took a deep breath and bellowed as loudly as he could over the racket the machines made, "Tanaka! Watch the mouth!"   
The hall was noticeably quieter for a moment and the phrase "Uh-oh! Busted!" hung unspoken yet deafening in the air. Kaiba stepped backwards to permit a Hi-Low laden with one of the hydraulic lifts that carried duelists up to the elevated Duel Interface past. Finally a muted, slightly sheepish roar answered: "Sorry, Kaiba-san!"   
He assumed Hikokurou Tanaka was now inside the Platform and behind one of the many access panels attempting to figure out what had been damaged during the long transport. Kaiba turned in a brief circle, momentarily not sure which way to go. There were more people here than what they truly needed and Tanaka ran this assembly like a well-oiled machine. Seto was impressed, though admittedly now lost. In times past, he would have been in the thick of this, but now he wasn't sure where he would be needed. He would need to speak with Tanaka after all this was over and find out if he truly needed this many people.   
He approached the nearest platform as KaibaCorp employees swarmed around, inside, and upon it like ants. Shielding his eyes from the glare of the bright lights high above, he watched as one of his company's cranes set the first of the hydraulic lifts into place. With an audible retort, the locking mechanisms snapped into place and left only the hydraulics to be hooked back up into the main array.   
"Excuse me, Sir? Could you please back up?" One of his many techs asked politely as another crane approached with the panels that would cover the hydraulics.   
Kaiba complied, feeling at a loss as the panels were bolted into place and the bolts capped with plastic pieces colored the same as the unit's paint-job. Back at the first Platform, the progress bar finally reached one-hundred percent and then the card test began. In rapid fire succession, each and every monster the platform could support appeared on the field, ran through it's full gamete of motion, ran through each and every animation it did, and then vanished to permit the next to appear. They performed two at a time, looking like a duel locked in fast-forward. Then it went to spell and trap effects; swirls and explosions, beams and bolts, spell effect monsters and structures appeared and disappeared, sparkles in every size, shape, and color exploded like a pyrotechnics display gone wild. Above it all, the progress bar rotated serenely as the count slowly increased.   
_ 'Blast it, I wanted to do that!'_ He thought in dismay as the count again reached one-hundred percent and jumped to the next test involving the hydraulic systems.   
He wandered the hall aimlessly, feeling oddly depressed at finding everything under control. His Exhibition Match wasn't until Nine this evening and he wasn't going to find out who he was dueling until at least Four this afternoon. They'd give the "lucky" duelist a pass to get in here at that time so they could have a meeting of the minds. There were hours to kill until then, however. Seto finally settled onto one of the completed stands and fished his notebook computer out of his briefcase. Last night he had decided to write a new display program, but hadn't gotten to it when exhaustion and jet-lag had finally caught up with him after dinner.   
Balancing the machine on his legs, he plugged in the receiver for his laser mouse and his miniature printer. Ready, he set it carefully on the bench and got started. First came the carefully written comments and explanation at the beginning; meticulously noting who wrote it, when, why, the programs' purpose, important notes he that he would leave blank until he finished. He surrounded it all with the comment tags and began with the program itself.   
It was one of the few things he could loose himself in, the only others being _Duel Monsters_, inventing and tinkering with things, martial arts, reading, and having fun with his little brother. While he knew this enjoyment would turn into a love-hate-&-obsession kind of thing when he went to error check and compile it, but he desperately loved the process and the result. There was some sort of satisfaction in the process of starting from a blank notepad on his computer and creating something that not only worked but did so well. Today it was just a simple program to rotate through display holograms of popular _Duel Monsters_. There were five of these holographic displays that would frame the main entrance to the West Exhibition Hall where they were setting up their latest model of Dueling Platform and where the final duels of this Tournament would be held along with his Exhibition match. The original program had been hideously large and Kaiba didn't want to leave anything powerful enough to operate it in the core of a relatively flimsy Plexiglas display case. His would run on a different language than the original, but could be run on a system that wasn't even guaranteed to be Y2K compliant.   
Kaiba hadn't realized how much time had passed until Mokuba poked him in the elbow and held up his lunch. With much difficulty, he pushed it aside as Mizuko and Mokuba sat down with him. He found his responses mostly consisting of nods, grunts, and various sounds of agreement, disagreement, and other vague reactions.   
Seto wolfed his way through what he presumed was a baked Lemon-Pepper fish of some sort and a parmesan pasta dish; before dragging his notebook computer back in front of his face. As such, he almost missed Mokuba's comment to Mizuko, "I love it when he gets like this! You can ask for anything and he'll agree to make you go away. I've got raises in my allowance and toys and stuff that way! Try it!"   
"Mokuba, I heard that . . ." Kaiba grunted distractedly. He heard Mizuko snicker behind her hand and even heard a few chuckles from nearby KaibaCorp employees.   
"Hey, Boss? Can I have a raise?" Tanaka sniggered as he passed, smelling strongly of cigarettes and burnt insulation.   
"Nice try." Kaiba stated, impatient to be left alone so he could get back to his program.   
Mizuko seemed to sense this and proclaimed, "Well, Mokuba, we'd better tell your brother good-bye so he can get back to work."   
Kaiba yelped as he was tackle hugged and issued one of Mokuba's wet, sloppy kisses they'd affectionately nicknamed "The Plunger Kiss." He hugged his little brother back and gave him an considerably less sloppy kiss on the cheek. "I ..ah.. miss you too, Mokuba." Kaiba paused to wipe the spittle from his cheek, noting the amusement the darker haired brother was getting from the action, "Snot."   
Mokuba giggled loudly, "Awww! You don't miss me, Seto?!"   
Seto lurched to his feet, snatched Mokuba up, and dangled him upside-down before the younger Kaiba could move. To his satisfaction, Mokuba's shirt fell down to reveal his stomach. "Mizuko: Attack with Tickle Torture! Show no mercy!" Mokuba's response to this was to shriek, squeal, giggle, and squirm as only a child can do. It wasn't as if Mizuko could carry out that command anyway, she was laughing too hard. Kaiba turned Mokuba rightside-up, bear-hugged him, and said his good-byes.   
He managed to wait until they were out of sight and then dropped back down to get back to work on his program.   
Hours came and went, he was forced to move several times due to either the proximity of heavy machinery or the need to move the bleachers he'd claimed as his work area. Kaiba finally found a safe place at a table on the newly erected stage in the center of the Hall where he remained for the rest of the time. Eventually he switched from writing the program and its file library to error checking. It was a slow and frustrating process, akin to searching for a needle in whole barn full of hay. All it took was a single, incorrect character in a several-thousand or more character program to render the whole thing inoperable; or a single flaw in otherwise correct logic to send it into a program loop.   
His back ached fiercely and his temper had grown short; the process of error checking had turned into an exercise comparable with trying to get past an ever-multiplying shield of Kuriboh. Each time he found and corrected an error another five rose to take its place. It occurred to him at one point that the collar of his shirt had become uncomfortable, but the act of breaking his focus to unbutton the constricting emerald material was equally offensive.   
Around four in the afternoon, he was finally starting to see the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel when he became aware of someone standing on the other side of the table watching him. Abruptly two hands slammed down on either side of his notebook computer, making the entire table jump. Kaiba glared up at Hikokurou Tanaka's leathery face, his brown eyes staring into his own blue eyes. A myriad of stenches hit him like a fist to the face - the scent of cigarettes stronger over the scents of coolants, burnt insulation, grease, and many more he couldn't put a name to.   
"Go away." Kaiba growled warningly.   
"Go take a break." Tanaka growled in the exact tone of voice, "Your ass has got to have grown roots by now. Go repot yourself somewhere else for a bit."   
"I'm almost done." He retorted.   
"Yes, I know you are." The man's large, battered fingers rested on the power switch.   
"Do it. You'll regret it." The blue eyed young man snarled angrily.   
Tanaka shrugged, "And what would you do without me? Restructuring isn't complete yet."   
Seto surged to his feet, knocking over the folding chair with a resounding crash. "Are you suggesting - ??"   
The man sighed, as though realizing what his reply must have sounded like, "My apologies, Son. Wrong choice of words."   
"Don't call me _'Son!'_ Don't you _dare_ call me that." He felt his hands balling into fists at his sides and couldn't open them.   
"Sheee-it, I'm just picking all kinds of bad words . . ." Tanaka muttered and crossed his arms over his stained coverall, his name and position embroidered in neat off-white letters beneath the full color KaibaCorp logo. He was a big man, commandingly tall and with a girth widening with age, but now he just seemed sheepish and small. "My apologies again, Kaiba-san. . . but you've been at this nonstop for hours. You'll burn yourself out in nothing flat. Please . . . take a break."   
Seto trembled silently for long minutes, in the clutches of his mute fury. He hated that look the older man was giving him; the same reason he'd hired him was the same reason he reviled him so thoroughly at this moment.   
"Go watch a Duel, go shopping, go find someone to Duel you, go find your partner for the Rave tonight: Do something!" Tanaka thundered.   
"It's an _Exhibition_, not a Rave . . ." Seto grumbled.   
The darker-haired man grinned triumphantly, "So you say, but I've always been told: Looks like duck, walks like a duck, quacks like duck. Therefore -"   
"It. Is. Not. A. Rave." He restated, brusquely interrupting his employee.   
"Okay okay, it's not a Rave." Tanaka consented with a grin.   
Seto sighed and saved his progress, "I'll be back in five -"   
"Fifteen"   
"Ten."   
"Thirty." Tanaka growled in that infuriatingly paternal voice, "I got boys your age: You're not winning, Boss."   
Kaiba swallowed a scream of frustration and started his computer's shutdown sequence. "Thirty minutes. I'm going down to Kentia Hall; there's an Industry Only sale there and I gave my word to an acquaintance to at least look."   
Tanaka nodded and hopped down from the stage. He stopped and grinned up at Seto, "Oh, I hope you like the sign we made for you." And with that the man vanished behind one of the nearby bleachers, his voice booming a question aimed at one of the other platforms.   
Curious, perturbed, and thoroughly frightened Seto put his notebook computer and peripherals back into his briefcase and jumped down himself. Taped to the edge of the stage with Duct Tape was a makeshift, cardboard "Do Not Disturb" sign. But to call it that would have been an understatement. Someone had taken the time to cut out a _Blue-Eyes, White Dragon_ picture but had cut off the dragon's head. In it's place, they'd pasted an image of Kaiba's head - he guessed from the latest Dueling magazine - and had cut out and replaced the bottom lip and jaw to make room for another image. Issuing from the picture's mouth was the missing jet of white lightning that should have been coming from the Dragon's maw. Along the right side of the sign someone had spelled out with letters cut from different magazines and newspapers, 

_ "WARNING: Disturbeth the Dragon @ Thine Own Risk!"_

After all that, the edges of the cardboard had been painstakingly burnt away to form it into a rectangle with curved edges. The whole sign was disturbingly intriguing - he wasn't sure whether to laugh or just be very very frightened.   
Seto shook his head, muttered about some of his employees having _way_ too much time on their hands, and ripped the sign free from the Duct Tape. He regarded it for a another minute before he carefully folded and stuffed it into his briefcase.   
He dropped off his briefcase with his personal body guards now sitting in chairs near his umbrella and trench coat and began walking to one of the smaller doors. He wasn't going out the main doors where other duelists were likely lying in wait. The last thing he wanted was a dozen autograph hounds demanding his signature or amateur duelists asking to see his cards or trade one or beg to be given one. Instead, he would exit the hall from one of the smaller, more discreet doors. They'd be locked in another Forty-five, so he might as well make use of them. He was almost there when he heard some voices he recognized but couldn't place.   
Seto traced his way between the stands and platforms towards the voices. What he saw made him freeze.   
Bandit Keith and several groupies were lurking around one of the Platforms, one of the access panels was off, and from the sounds there was at least one person inside. Kaiba bristled furiously, _'How in the hell did they get in here?!'_   
He took a deep breath to calm and steel himself, playing a brief set of mindgames with himself to prepare for what might happen. He counted heads quickly, noting that Keith had gotten himself at least two more groupies and that one was missing. He believed it was the one with the neon hair fetish; if he was still around, he would probably be dueling over in the West Exhibition Hall.   
At that moment, Keith spotted him. His swagger and tone of voice was as cocky as ever, "Hey, look guys! Seto Kaiba! Hey Kaiba, how's it going?"   
There was absolutely nothing friendly about the question, if anything, it was pure malice.   
"Fine. What do you think you're doing with my Platform?"   
Keith put on a good show of being offended, "Doing? We weren't doing anything - were we, boys?"   
The groupies snickered and denied they were doing anything - even as two of their number stuck their heads outside the access door. One with a face made up to look like a corpse and sporting spiky bluish hair and the other was a new one about Yugi's height, but none of his sophistication. He distinctly and unpleasantly reminded Kaiba of that . . . thing Yugi beaten in an attempt to save Mokuba. He was skinny instead of obese, but rather it was his face and the look upon it that reminded him of it. Kaiba shook himself mentally and returned his attention to the present.   
"We were just providing your biz a service." A black haired groupie oozed in feigned innocence.   
Kaiba chuckled once, the action little more than the syllable "heh" and a rise and fall of his shoulders. "I doubt that."   
Keith chuckled, "Oh - C'mon, Kaiba. I'm only doing the same thing you do -"   
"And that is?" Seto interrupted, cocking an eyebrow.   
"Doing whatever it takes to win! C'mon, you'd do the same thing." Keith and his cronies chuckled, as though they thought this funny.   
"Well, I got a tip for you then." Kaiba said, smiling. They should have made duplicates of that sign; he was in no mood to be screwed around with today. He motioned Keith closer with a full fingered wave as though he had something he would share with the blond American and only him.   
Keith grinned and moved in close, "Yeah, what?"   
Kaiba gripped the man's arm at his elbow and pulled his ear closer. He found the nerve complex in the inside Keith's elbow and prepared himself as he whispered, "I can play dirty too."   
The color drained from the American's face and there was a quiet gasp. His cronies hadn't caught on yet, they were just staring. Maliciously, Kaiba twisted his thumb, digging his nail harder and deeper into the nerve complex.   
And then Keith screamed.   
Kaiba grinned and let him go, skipping lightly back to land into a casual, defensive stance.   
Keith swore and gasped, shaking a hand that was probably numb. He swore again, and then yelled hoarsely, "Get him!"   
_ 'How predictable.' _Kaiba thought, dancing lightly out of the way of the first punch. He caught the offending arm as he streaked by his head, twisted himself round, and flipped his attacker over his hip. He skipped out of the way of the next attack - he caught of glimpse of black hair - and then in closed in during the next attempted punch to strike the man's solar-plexus. Keith staggered up next and tried his luck, but his target dropped out of reach a moment before the floor rose up to kiss the blond.   
Kaiba scrambled back to his feet and bounced lightly on his feet. Black hair was back on his feet and coming. Seto dropped his left hand to prepare for his best kick and then yelped as pain shot up his arm. He changed targets and kicked blindly, but it was his knee that connected. A kid with spiky blue hair went sprawling, curling into a fetal position and his hands clutching his gut.   
However, he'd forgotten about his first attacker.   
A fist whipped his head around, spreading a quick, harsh pain across cheek. On recovery, Kaiba broke his nose with a quick motion with his right hand. He spun in an attempt to run. A shoulder connected with his jaw, standing him up straight and clicking his teeth together.   
Seto dropped into a roll, coming up barely in time to miss the first line of bleachers.   
Keith closed in once more. Seto spun into a kick and followed the motion through with an vicious backhand. As Keith hit the floor once more, Seto put a well-placed kick into the blond's gut.   
Arms wrapped around Seto's stomach and pulled him back as his personal body guards closed in quickly. The stench of cigarettes and other materials filled his nostrils. Kaiba strained against the stronger arms holding him back, screaming out curses to Keith's groupies.   
The older man's arms switched to his arms, gentle but with a firmness that said he wasn't going anywhere. He watched, livid, as they were rounded up and hauled away. He trembled and swore, his eyes glued on Keith.   
"Easy . . ." Tanaka murmured.   
Kaiba swore at him, straining once more.   
"Easy . . . they're not worth it. Are they?"   
He took a deep, shuddering breath. He felt Tanaka's arms release him and move to rub his back. Seto shrugged them away peevishly.   
"Are they?" The man's firm voice asked again.   
Kaiba swore again and took another shuddering breath. Tanaka backed him up and helped him over to a welcoming seat on one of the bleachers.   
"No." He rasped as he wiped away a trickle of blood from his mouth. Belatedly realizing he would need to wipe his hands off, he glanced around him. He black slacks were filthy and dusty now, even torn at a knee. Through the tear, he could see a thin line of red appearing. Kaiba wiped his hand on his slacks and leaned back against the next level of seats.   
"You got bit." Tanaka observed darkly.   
Kaiba glanced down at his hand, watching as blood welled up from teeth marks that marred the flesh on the thumb side of his hand. "Yeah, some little shit named . . ." He searched his mind momentarily; even Joey could beat that one. _'What was his name?'_ ". . . Bones, I think? . . . bit me."   
Tanaka shook his head in disgust, and then commented, "There goes your nose too."   
Seto swore and dabbed his fingers at his nose, feeling warm liquid running from his nostrils and noting that his fingers came away red. Tanaka dug in his pocket and produced a filthy paper towel. He unfolded it until he found a clean spot and offered it to him. Kaiba accepted it with a grateful nod and pinched his nose.   
"Lets see your teeth." Tanaka stated patiently, resting one large hand on his boss's thin shoulder. Kaiba grimaced and bared his teeth at his employee, as the adrenaline wore off he was finally feeling pain from his injuries. "Looks okay. Our nurses are over by the West Hall. You better go see them, you don't have a clue where they've been."   
Kaiba grinned at him, "Yeah, well - I have a good imagination."   
Tanaka tossed his head back and laughed momentarily before swatting his shoulder, "Get going, you."   
Kaiba stuck to the sides of the hallways, skirting the crowds and edging between vendor stands set up against the walls. He got a few odd looks as he moved, but he kept himself to a pace that wouldn't permit anyone to really get a good look at him. Seto did get a nice nugget of satisfaction as spotted Bandit Keith's name being marked as disqualified up on the rankings and score board. A little further, he overheard a juicy bit of gossip that Keith and his cronies were being shown off the Convention Center grounds. However, by that point he'd found his corporation's nurses at the KaibaCorp booth helping to hand out information about their Dueling Systems and the company itself. Quick and efficient as most of the other departments, they got him cleaned up and bandaged in what seemed to be record time.   
He was on his way back to the South Hall when he heard a short scream of frustration. As he passed the doors he spotted Autumn Tennant crawling about on all-fours, desperately trying to gather her cards before the trampling feet of those leaving the Hall carried them out of her reach. Tears of fury ran unchecked down her face and red-rimmed eyes darted about frantically as she dove, lunged, and crawled. From here he could hear her sobs and gasps as she scurried around on the cement, urgently searching for more cards.   
Kaiba casually swept up a box of tissues as he passed a booth and tucked them under and arm. Halfway there she had apparently concluded she had retrieved all she was going to, rose to her feet, and took a few steps to sit against the rubber-coated cloth that sheathed the bleachers.   
"Is it time for your medication - or mine?" He asked as he dropped the box at her feet.   
She shrugged in answer and leaned forward to snatch a tissue from the box. As she was mopping her face off, he batted the cloth out of the way and glanced under the bleachers. Not seeing any cards, he strode over to the other side and repeated the action. His search was rewarded with a _Big Eye_, _Dream Clown_, _Neo the Magic Swordsman_, _Bickuribox_, and a _Tainted Wisdom_.   
"These yours?" He asked as he emerged, holding the cards out so she could clearly see each of them. He found himself scowling, not at her but at the situation and the day as a whole.   
She glanced up briefly and nodded. "I have those cards in my deck."   
Her voice was so quiet, so pathetic, he almost didn't hear her. He sighed and dropped down to sit beside her. He handed her the cards, "Well, if they aren't from your deck - they're yours now."   
"Thank you." The cards were simply laid on the top of the deck. She wasn't counting them to see that she had them all, nothing. He shut his eyes and leaned his head back against the canvas; silence reigning for long moments as he waited for the medication he'd taken to start dulling the pain. When he reopened his eyes, she hadn't moved other than to pull another tissue from the box.   
His decision was made before he'd even realized he'd thought about it; he snatched the cards from her hand and began separating out the Fusion Cards. When he could find no more, he began counting the cards into tens; but when he reached sixty-seven cards total he frowned.   
"Side deck - yes, no?"   
Autumn was silent and he was sure he'd probably missed a nod or a shrug. Scowling, he recounted and once again found sixty-seven cards. He was going to ignore the niggling thoughts in the back of his head concerning its construction for the moment.   
"Do you have a Side Deck?" He demanded.   
"I said _'yes'_ - okay!?"   
Kaiba rolled his eyes, cupped his mouth with his hands, and mumbled, "Youmeanlikethis?" His answer was a glare from a pair of blood-shot, hazel eyes; he continued, "I'm sorry - that isn't an answer."   
"Then just leave me alone. I don't need your help if you're going to be so - so - nasty!"   
"Whatever. I was trying to do something nice." He tossed the cards into her lap and rose unsteadily to his feet.   
She glowered up at him, looking as miserable as he felt. "I thought you didn't help amateurs. What am I going to have to do for this honor?"   
Her sarcasm was as stinging as his own commonly was in that last statement and he wasn't sure how to respond. Kaiba sighed in frustration and ran his right hand through his hair. He sighed again, this time heavily and sat down beside her once more. "What time is it?"   
"Almost five. So are you going to answer me?"   
"Duel me. Tonight in the Exhibition. The person I was supposed to duel has been shown the door." His anger was slowly fading, returning him to that apathetic mood he'd been in when he arrived this morning. Slowly the pieces were falling into place and he found himself muttering to himself, "I forgot they would give them a pass . . . Keith used it to get him and his friends inside. . ."   
He heard her sigh, as heavy and deep as he had sighed, "I'm sorry, it sounds - looks - like you've had a sucky day. What did they do?"   
"Heh. You're telling me; I'm talking to myself." He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, "They vandalized one of my company's Dueling Platforms . . . I assume they were trying to cheat. Again. Still. Yet."   
"Well, that explains alot." She sighed once more and pulled her legs in close, "He cheated. Damn him."   
"I thought so. I'll wager he had neon hair while I'm at it too." Kaiba stated, his attention briefly drawn to the unusual bracelet on her wrist. Brown and cream strands wove in and out of each other in waves, rounding her wrist before they met a copper clasp. He blinked and met her eyes; pleased to see she had on a slight smile, "So. Are you going to Duel me or not?" 


	3. Halloween

**Yu-Gi-Oh: Tempus Temporis**   
Version E-1.3   
By Jinx&Jedi 

.:: Chapter III - Halloween ::. 

_ Sydney, Australia_   
_ 05:37pm on Thursday, October 31, 2002_

With a cackle that bordered on a blood-curdling scream, the dark clown exploded from the force of the attack. The severed pieces of its corpse floated and spun lightly, gently on the air in a macabre parody of a child's snow globe. They hung, suspended for the span of several heartbeats before they collapsed in a flurry of black glitter. Slowly, as if carried on an invisible wind, it began to spread across the field. It swirled, tumbled, and reached in sinister, ethereal wisps; wraith-like and barely visible in the bright lights of the arena it glided towards his opponent's monster. First one space, and then another it wafted inexorably forward.   
The battle zone was rapidly crossed.   
One more space.   
He kept his head bowed, staring vacantly at the back of the face-down card he'd placed in the second space from the right on his Magic and Trap Card Zone. His brown bangs hung like a veil in front of his face, stirred by the same breath of air that moved the glitter across the field. Expectation froze the breath in his chest and sent his blood pounding in his ears.   
It was only a matter of time.   
Across the holographic arena his opponent beamed triumphantly, naively oblivious to the change taking place on the field. The dark haired American, like so many before him, wasn't realizing he was being brought to his knees. By now it had afflicted his deck, infecting all his strongest monsters and removing their capability to be played. At the edge of his peripheral vision, he could see lights dancing against the dark fabric of the young man's "Costume" tee-shirt. Yet; caught up in his glorious delusions of victory, the other Duelist wasn't noticing much of anything.   
The shimmering dust touched his opponent's _Flame Champion_.   
It swirled around the fire-sword, _Salamandra_, and sparkled in the light from the burning shield on her left arm. The fire continued burning, though it's flame had darkened from the brilliant, white-orange gleam of a roaring fire to the bloody light of fading embers. Like a bashful lover, the glitter caressed its way up her bare legs, across the silver armor and emerald cloth that protected her mid-rift and chest, and then finally stroked the smooth skin of her face through the silvery metal of her helmet.   
And then struck like a viper.   
Seto Kaiba chuckled deep in his throat and lifted his head as he heard the death scream of the female monster, the typical explosion of sound as it was consigned to the Graveyard quickly followed, and followed still by a classic, dumb-founded intake of breath.   
"I see my Dark Clown Master is a regular Lady Killer." He mused, feeling momentary stings of pain as his chapped lips broke and bled as they extended into a his usual smirk. "But you know demons: they like it rough. I'll have to speak with him about that -" He lifted the trap card from his interface, held it high so as to be easily seen, and declared, "_Crush Card_, activated when _Saggi The Dark Clown_ was destroyed."   
He replaced the card face up in the spot he'd lifted it from, tossed his hair out of his eyes, and waited patiently for his turn. Kaiba no longer remembered his opponent's name, nor did he care. The Duel, the match, and the entire Sydney Invitational was essentially over. He had three ways to end the Duel right in his current hand. Three ways to rip away the last of the American's Life-Points and leave him to contemplate his foolish, so-called strategies in disgrace. Three ways to win so soundly the Looser wouldn't know what hit him.   
The Hawaiian stared at the cards he still held in his hand; most of them - Kaiba knew - were useless now. Oh, there would be magic and trap cards. There _might_ even be the occasional level four or five monster who was _just_ weak enough to remain untouched by the Virus ravaging his deck. However, he still had plenty of Life Points, plenty of Cards, and plenty of firepower left to raze the field several times over.   
"I... I have nothing else to play." Came the enjoyable, defeated mutter from his opponent. Kaiba had long ago figured his strategies out, none of which included weak and mid-level monsters to circumvent his _Virus-Sagi_ Combo. His turn declared over, all he could do now was watch the Duel reach its unavoidable conclusion.   
Kaiba couldn't have been more pleased.   
With no monsters on the field to protect his competitor's Life Points, any attack of any kind right now would be devastating. _'Devastating is _precisely_ what I want.'_ Seto chuckled to himself, relishing his advantage. They were playing by the old, unchallenging, and insipid rules that had made Dueling so boring and almost repellent to him; the same rules that only served to hasten the end of this Tournament.   
His draw phase rewarded him with a _Cyber-Stien_, but unluckily, he was too low on Life Points to use him. Seto grinned wolfishly and lifted his Chinese copy of _Blue Eyes, White Dragon _from his hand. "I play the famed _Blue Eyes, White Dragon_!" He bellowed as he slapped it onto the middle space of his Monster Zone.   
The thunderous cry of the enormous creature shook the stadium and the rafters above his head as the silvery, lithe neck of the dragon shot from the matching rectangle on the field. Powerful wings beat strongly against the air currents, carrying it high above the holographic arena, before it settled lightly over the field. Kaiba could smell ozone on the air and could practically taste the fear radiating from the other side of the Dueling Platform. The blue-eyed dragon lingered for a heartbeat above the field before lifting its wings high, spilling the air that had supported it, and dropping the last few meters. The arena shook with the impact and dust flew up around its sinuous form. The dragon hissed and roared at the American, dropped onto all-fours, and awaited his command.   
"_Blue Eyes, White Dragon_!" He barked. The majestic dragon reared as he spoke its name, wings spread wide to stabilize itself, "Attack!!"   
He shut his eyes against the harsh glare as the Dragon spat its jet of white-hot brilliance. A delighted, invigorated laugh exploded from his very core as dazzling white light spilled between his tightly clenched eyes and a fierce wind lashed his face and wrenched at his clothing. When he opened his eyes, he was rewarded with the sight of his dark haired opponent watching in horror as his Life Points dropped and continued dropping. The downward count went negative before the computer bounced the number back up to a solid zero.   
His dragon let loose an earsplitting, thunderous roar of triumph before it dissolved into a radiant light that quickly faded, leaving only its echo to show it had ever occupied the arena.   
Seto chuckled as he swept all his cards up casually and tucked his deck back into its home in the right, breast pocket of his black, leather coat. The crowd in the stands high above was deafening, their cries a mixture of laughter, cheers, and contemptuous shouts; some were pleased and even amused by his win while others felt he shouldn't even have been invited. Kaiba ignored them all as he punched the "Down" button and crossed his arms over his chest. His opponent was still picking through his Graveyard with a look distress painted across his face, as if trying to figure out where he went wrong. He soon lost sight of him as the lift bounced gently an instant before the hydraulic systems began lowering him to the floor.   
He crossed the expansive floor briskly and stood in front of his folding chair. On his way over, he'd spotted a flash deep blue and black running for all he was worth down to the floor. Kaiba could hear his little brother yelling something, but he was easily drowned out by the crowd. Mokuba's sneakers skidded and squeaked as he spun around the last corner and sprinted for him.   
"It's Shane!" He panted when he reached him, "It's Shane!"   
"Westfield?" Seto's shoulders rose and fell briefly in a quick chuckle, genuinely amused. "That's a surprise."   
"Yeah, it was him!" Mokuba said, tossing a glance over his shoulder in the direction he'd come from. "I know it was him! When he saw me, he pointed at me and played a _Summoned Skull_!"   
"That would be Westfield." Seto grinned, nodded in satisfaction, and crossed his arms over his chest, too impatient to finish the Tournament and get on with his life to find sitting appealing. The tournament's organizing committee had only invited Duelists from the Pacific Rim and while that region contained much of the Dueling Elite, it hadn't drawn any Duelists good enough to even make him feel remotely challenged.   
Thus; he had found himself bored once again.   
"When this is over, can we go back up north to the beach house for a while longer?"   
Seto pulled his cuff back and examined his watch, "Provided there's daylight left. The final match starts at six sharp."   
Mokuba sighed in disappointment and crossed his arms over his Hawaiian shirt decorated with stylized dragons, lotus blossoms, and sharks-teeth, "And who knows when we'll be able to get away after that."   
Kaiba chuckled, his tone communicating that he agreed to his little brother, "You can always talk to our body-guards and have them take you back to the hotel."   
Mokuba's comical reply to that suggestion was a dirty look, "No thanks, I'm gonna to stay here with you. Besides, I want to say Hi to Shane."   
They stood there, waiting, for what felt like hours. Mokuba eventually sidled back to sit in Seto's folding chair. Seto himself restrained the urge to tap his foot in irritation and tried to remind himself that at least he wasn't caged in his office. The impatient part of him dodged the thought cleanly and insisted that now he was locked into this asinine competition. He had signed up and had flown over; conned into the idea that this event would be a challenging test of the Elite's Elite. New rules, innovative twists, and challenging matches had been promised to him. Unless they were saying that he-himself was going to be the challenge, there was none; and the only thing close to innovative, so far, was running into Westfield, who - as a rule - wasn't all that serious about _Duel Monsters_. While he wouldn't truly challenge him, his stall-tactics were just annoying enough to fool a part of him into thinking he was being challenged. The only thing new to any of this was the five days of inviolable free time his little brother and he had enjoyed before the Tourney.   
"It's weird, Shane's changed alot . . ." Mokuba finally commented, but he trailed the thought off and left it incomplete. He fidgeted with the necklace he was wearing, playing with the stylized, blue and silver cloisonné flame that made up the pendant. He appeared to be contemplating saying something else, but wasn't sure about speaking out about it.   
"What is it, Mokuba?" He asked, his gaze not moving from the enormous screen above the Judge's booth. It was showing instant-replays from the Duel, probably with narration for the live telecast of the Invitational.   
"Nothing." The darker-haired Kaiba lied, "He just wasn't using his _Weenie Rush_." He used one of the points to clean the dirt out from under his nails, not meeting his eyes.   
"Mokuba." Seto growled, using his tone to implicate that he wasn't accepting his excuse. While he had no doubt the London-born New Zealander had yet again changed his Dueling Deck, he wasn't going accept that a triviality such as a different deck structure would concern his little brother.   
"It's nothing!"   
Seto's gaze didn't leave the field, nor did he uncross his arms; although a definitive edge had crept into his voice, "I am _not_ walking on eggshells around him, Mokuba. If he is going to Duel me, he is going to _Duel_ - _not_ have his afternoon tea. Pure and simple."   
Mokuba rolled his eyes expressively and swung his khaki-clad legs to kick the legs of the chair, "I _know_ that, Seto. It's just some of his new cards, but you don't like me telling you about those, remember?"   
_ 'Right . . .'_ Seto thought sarcastically; he still wasn't buying it. However, he recognized that his little brother wasn't going to tell him, at least not here. "I remember."   
On the screen, they were summing up the past two days, showing clips of the various Duels and who had already been eliminated. It was full of smooth transitions interspersed with jump-cuts, using similar monsters or similar destruction sequences to blend into another Duel. Seto grinned as the screen went pure white, flashed a _Blue Eyes, White Dragon_ and then another flash. A clip of the Dragon's blue eye blended into what he could only assume was one of his own eyes, and zoomed out to show him barking commands to the silver creature. He would have to check into how he could get a copy of the telecast, just so he could hear what was being said.   
The screen then shifted to different monsters and obliterating assaults, this time involving _Demon Summons_ and Machine-type monsters, jumping in and out to the blond Duelist. Seto chuckled, still mildly surprised the laid-back, eccentric Duelist had made it this far. As long as he'd known him, he had never taken Dueling seriously - in fact, he had been barely interested - and thus, never made it very far. The _Summoned Skull _on the screen inflated to huge, gratuitous proportions before its _Sword of Dark Destruction _neatly halved an _Ushi Oni_.   
"That's where he pointed at me and used it." Mokuba informed him quietly, coming to stand at his side.   
Seto nodded, recognizing the tactic - Shane used to delight in pulling the same move, except to far larger proportions, to take down one of his _Blue Eyes_. The young man's deck had been based around pathetically weak monsters who could directly attack an opponent's Life Points, using various Magic and Trap cards to pin an opponent down while he did his dirty work. In spite of this, he'd kept the four cards needed to take down a _Blue Eyes_ in his side-deck along with even more annoying magic and trap cards. While he couldn't beat him, he couldn't even hope to tie with him; Shane could get on his nerves with the best of them.   
Up on the screen, it had frozen on two images. His own picture glared back at him while his signature scrawled over and over at the bottom as Shane Westfield's image did the same. The blond's picture grinned at him, infuriatingly cheerful in his expression as the light from the flash glinted off the silver barbell that pierced his eyebrow.   
Kaiba scanned the crowd, knowing automatically that they were waiting on the other Duelist. It was almost six and there was only couple minutes left before the deadline passed and his opponent was disqualified. His gaze froze in the direction Mokuba had come from on a slow-moving figure. He turned full around to face the person, recrossed his arms over his chest, and stared impatiently at him. The young man lifted his head, met his eyes briefly, and obviously sighed before picking up the pace. Westfield emerged from the same field entrance Mokuba had dashed out from and moved at his version of a brisk walk, his feet coming to rest at the same moment as the opposite forearm crutch touched the ground.   
"Good luck, Seto!" Mokuba said hurriedly, embracing him quickly.   
"Thanks, Kid." Kaiba grinned as he began to walk, unhurriedly towards the platform himself.   
Even at his relatively slowest pace, he easily caught up with him. Shane's legs bent oddly due to his muscles being too weak to keep them steady, his crutches helping him walk with a semblance of normality. Kaiba fell into step beside his opponent and surreptitiously sized him up. He was still easily his height, though he was now broader in the shoulders and larger in the hands. The facial piercing was missing, however, although his eternally too-long bangs still drifted in three strands in front of his face. His style of dress had changed too, he was now dressing almost fastidiously; though, that could probably be explained by his impending graduation.   
However, unlike the picture above, the real Westfield wasn't cheerful. He wasn't even happy. He looked furious.   
"You're actually interested enough to Duel me? I'm surprised." Kaiba gleefully muttered in his opponent's ear, feeling the corner of his mouth quirk.   
The blond duelist didn't pause or even meet his gaze but his slightly higher voice was curt, "Sod Off, Seto."   
Kaiba laughed, genuinely amused. "Better save that "_S.O.S_" for when I'm kicking your ass."   
He caught a glimpse of Westfield's right middle finger at the bottom of his peripheral vision as the duelist paused a moment before he settled back into his two-point gait. Kaiba laughed and followed, easily catching back up. Over the loudspeakers came the beginning of the original _Points of Authority_ by Linkin Park, just barely audible over the crowd.   
"Hear that? They're playing the anthem of this Duel." Seto yet again muttered in Shane's ear. His voice lowered to a whisper, "Forfeit, you can't keep up."   
"Kutebare." Shane snapped, his eyes narrowing over the jet-black of his novelty contact lenses.   
"Same to you," Kaiba smirked. "Looser."   
They were almost to the Platform, Shane pursed his lips, looking thoughtful. He spoke in accented, formal Japanese, "Perhaps we should request this be game of Strip-Dueling. At the end of this at whole world would see that you which really are."   
"Westfield, your Japanese is hysterical." Kaiba sneered, his eyebrow cocked as he gauged the reactions he was getting. "I wish I had a blueprint for your brain; I've been trying to build an idiot for my game."   
The New Zealander snorted in return and reverted back to English, "You know, Seto? You've changed: You used to be arrogant and obnoxious. Now you're just -"   
"Gentlemen!" The head judge interrupted harshly, "Save the garbage for the game!" He adjusted his glasses and stepped back, "Shake hands, Please!"   
Kaiba turned and offered Westfield his hand, smiling in a ruthless parody of sociability. At first he was almost certain Shane was going to decline or possibly even spit at him, but then he gripped his hand firmly. He could feel his opponent's thumb digging into the nerve complex just behind his thumb, so he dug his own thumb into the blond's matching complex. They stared defiantly and mercilessly at each other for the span of several heartbeats, each trying to dig their thumb deeper and harder than the other, before they let go and pulled their decks from their respective homes.   
"Shuffle your decks!"   
Kaiba kept his eyes on Shane as he shuffled his deck rapidly. His right hand was growing numb from the point where the European's thumb had dug him, but he had little doubt he'd had a comparable effect on his opponent. He watched as Westfield balanced on his crutches as best he could while shuffling his deck, forced to keep his eyes down-turned.   
"Now, shuffle your opponent's deck!"   
Their decks were traded and quickly shuffled. It didn't escape Seto's notice that Shane went to the extra effort to split his deck into equal parts and fan them back together before cutting the deck again and then pushing the halves back together. _'He's not going to chance any possible cheating_,_'_ A part of his mind offered with maddening helpfulness, but the thought that Westfield mistrusted him that badly absurdly exasperated him further.   
As they traded decks back, Kaiba narrowed his eyes and regarded Westfield once more. The other Duelist had indeed changed since they'd last met in person. What it was, he didn't know nor did he really care.   
As the hydraulic lift carried him up, he played sets of mind games with himself, trying to prepare himself for any surprises Westfield might be able to trip on him. In each, his opponent played a potentially devastating card combination and, in turn, he countered. For each of his own combos there was a counter which he would annul with a different combination. He knew Shane probably still had his complete _Demon Summon_ combination and that he'd probably already exchanged the weaker cards for the stronger ones from his side-deck. Thus, he quickly decided that he'd lure Shane into playing it and then destroy in any way possible. He would use _Heavy Storm_ on it, or the _Invitation to a Dark Sleep_, _Dark Hole_ would work also, as would _Tribute to the Doomed _and _Curse of Darkness_. His _Crush Card_/ _Sagi_ combination would be useless against him; Westfield knew that combination and Kaiba would find himself on the receiving end of _Heavy Storm_ or _Giant Trunade_.   
The soft retort of the lift's locking mechanisms broke him out of his mind games. Kaiba picked up the lapel microphone and pinned it quickly to his coat's collar.   
Below, the head judge turned to face the audience as the two duelists readied their interfaces, "The Duelist with the highest rating in the tournament will make the first play. That would be Seto Kaiba."   
Seto took a deep breath as they drew their first five cards, calming the feeling of exhilaration that always boiled up from the depths of his being. Then a smirk drew itself across his face, his first hand was good: _Vampire Lord_, _Blood Vors_, _Angel's Gift_, his Japanese _Blue Eyes, White Dragon_, and a _Needle Worm_.   
He regarded his hand momentarily before he set the _Blood Vors_, "I play _Blood Vors_ in Attack Mode!"   
The beast-warrior appeared in a rush of light and a shower of sparks, a growl rumbling deep in its throat. Its olive-colored muscles bunched as it brandished it's pole-arm towards his opponent. He could smell the stink of a carnivore's breath, the tang of blood, and the aroma of supple, well-kept leather on the air.   
"Your move." Seto stated coldly.   
Westfield was regarding his hand intensely. He selected one card, hesitated, changed his mind, replaced it, selected another, and finally laid it face down and in defense move, "I set this card in face down, defense mode and end my turn."   
Kaiba grinned, not really all that alarmed. His draw phase rewarded him with his _Steel Ogre Grotto #2_, but he didn't need him at the moment.   
"_Blood Vors_!" He barked, "Attack!"   
The humanoid beast's scythe-bladed weapon impaled the glowing square ruthlessly. A furry creature with three tightly clenched eyes screeched shrilly once, it's bony, green arms waving frantically an instant before it vanished.   
Kaiba narrowed his eyes at the spot where _Sangan_ had been. That had been an unusual move for Shane. _Critter_ was now one of the established _Exodia_ and _Shadow Ghoul_ search cards, but both were on Shane's established list of despised monsters.   
Across the arena, Westfield had already drawn a card from his deck and had added it to his hand. He laid his hand face down and to the side and then shuffled his deck quickly, cutting and fanning it, before returning it to the Deck Zone.   
He lifted another card from his hand and laid it face down, "I set another card in face down defense mode and end my turn."   
Kaiba lifted an eyebrow and shook his head, "On the run already? I'm hardly surprised."   
He regarded the space again, if Shane was like most of the other Duelists he'd encountered it was another search card. However, part of him wanted to see what he was up to. Kaiba laid his _Steel Ogre Grotto #2 _face down and also in defense mode, "I also choose to set a card face down and in defense mode. However, I choose to attack with _Blood Vors_!"   
Once again, the beast-warrior charged, the scythe-bladed weapon hurtling through space to attack the hiding creature. However, this time a woman in flowing, dark robes appeared, hands held outward in a vain attempt to defend herself. She screamed once and vanished.   
As the _Witch of the Black Forest_ vanished, Shane was finding yet another card to add to his hand before shuffling his deck.   
_ 'Interesting.'_ Kaiba thought, contemplating the move. The only other creature he could think of that would need those cards might be _Magnet Valkyrion_, but he wasn't all that alarmed. _Magnet Valkyrion_ was hideously rare and so far the only Duelist he'd seen with one was Yugi. It was far more likely that Shane and simply lifted his aversion to _Shadow Ghouls_ and had found one from the last reprint series. Then again, Westfield was one of the wealthiest Duelists in the League; he could easily have done the same thing he had done to find his three _Blue Eyes, White Dragons_.   
He didn't have much longer to reflect on possible monsters as Shane leered cheerfully and swept three cards onto the field, "I sacrifice _Magnet Warrior Alpha_, _Beta_, and _Gamma_ from my hand to summon _Magnet Valkyrion_!"   
The winged automaton rose from the middle square, it's silver wings spread wide and it's sword held menacingly, ready to attack. The tiny LED lights inside it's mechanized eyes glowed balefully at him from it's golden helmet ornamented with a horse-shoe magnet.   
Shane seemed much more jovial now, though his voice was still serious, "And, since I know you were waiting to see what I was up to and are probably are about to open your Can on me, I will end my turn with the Magic Card: _Swords of Revealing Light_!"   
The regal, glowing swords appeared majestically high above his side of the field before they plummeted, freezing the motion on his side of the field.   
"Heh, still stalling. You're as boring as ever." Kaiba chuckled as he drew, but cursed mentally as he got his _Gift of the Mystical Elf _instead of anything useful at the moment.   
"I'm not stalling nor running, I'm simply moving to a better vantage point for the fireworks." Shane sniffed. "I sacrifice _Magnet Valkyrion_ and return _Magnet Warrior Gamma_ to the field!"   
Seto laughed as the little, red machine reappeared back on the field. It brandished it's cartoon-like fists at him and inclined it's tiny head as though it was trying to make it's tiny, yellow, LED eyes look intimidating. _'Now, that was silly.'_ He thought in amusement. His _Blood Vors_ would be able to tear it apart when he could move again. He drew again, but managed to get his _Polimerization_. "Go." He snapped.   
"If you insist." Westfield quipped and slapped another card on the field. "I play _Magnet Warrior Alpha_, in attack mode and I also play my other _Swords of Revealing Light_."   
Kaiba felt his lip curl; now he remembered why he hated Dueling Shane. His stall tactics didn't fool him into thinking he was being challenged, they infuriated him. The little robot's green shield and sword were held ready, it's blocky feet set wide apart.   
Kaiba drew another card and had to swallow a laugh, he now had _Versago the Destroyer_, which meant he only needed to find one more of his Dragons to get his _Ultimate Dragon_. "Go." He said coldly, holding back his glee and hiding it under a mask of indifference.   
"I play _Magnet Warrior Beta_ in attack mode! And now, I sacrifice all three _Magnet Warriors_ to summon my second _Magnet Valkyrion_!"   
_ 'He was trying to get two out there.'_ Kaiba realized, scowling. He then drew again, and fought his lips to keep them from quirking. He set the _Polymerization_ card face down on the field and laid the first dragon above it, also face down. "I play one magic card face down, and set one monster card in face down defense mode."   
"And whose running scared now?" Shane asked, his voice droll. "I play _Monster Reborn_, returning my first _Valkyrion_ to the field!"   
The field shimmered briefly before the original _Valkyrion _took its place beside its twin. They brandished their matching swords decorated with magnets, the poles bicolored to tell them apart. Their articulated hands flexed and the servomotors operating it pulsated in heavy, deep notes, as though the anticipation of battle had sent their nonexistent hearts pounding.   
"_Magnet Valkyrion_!" Shane bellowed, tapping the card to indicate which one he wanted to attack. The second _Valkyrion_ dropped onto one knee, sword held ready and its ersatz, motorized heartbeat thrumming louder in response to its name. "Attack _Blood Vors_!" 


	4. Fusion Gate

**Yu-Gi-Oh: Tempus Temporis**   
Version E-1.3   
By Jinx&Jedi 

.:: Chapter IV - Fusion Gate ::. 

_ Sydney, Australia_   
_ 06:19pm on Thursday, October 31, 2002_

The _Magnet Valkyrion _hurdled forward, engines screaming. It crossed the field like a missile, mechanical wings slicing through the air. In a motion too swift for his eyes to capture, it's sword cleaved through his _Blood Vors_. The beast-warrior managed to fire off a brief roar of agony before it disintegrated into a flurry of pixels.   
Kaiba narrowed his eyes peevishly as his Life Points plunged from the original four-thousand points to twenty-four hundred.   
That had been painful to watch, but no worse than when he dueled Yugi. That was a drop in the bucket in those Duels which often involved far greater disparities between creatures. He was positive Yugi could find a use for any card he was given, no matter how ridiculous or useless said card was. He had a near-infinite array of combinations in his deck and could easily come up with five more combinations for each of those at the spur-of-the-moment. He was the only Duelist he actually appreciated Dueling and the only one who could truly challenge him, even though he wouldn't admit it.   
Nevertheless, that last attack had managed to get his blood boiling and the gears of his mind flying. He could easily counter it provided Shane didn't dump a third stall card on him. Even so, the truth was that not even he could dismiss a monster with thirty-five hundred attack points and thirty-eight hundred fifty defense points. If Shane pulled the _Shield and Sword _card - which he knew he probably still in his Side-Deck - a lone _Magnet Valkyrion_ would be able to go toe-to-toe with a _Gate Guardian_ or his _Ultimate Blue Eyes_.   
_ 'And he has two.'_ Seto reflected savagely as he regarded the cards in his hand. He had to act quickly before Westfield chose to attack one of his face-down monsters; namely his _Blue Eyes White Dragon_. Part of him was uneasy about bringing his _Ultimate Blue Eyes_ into play now for fear his opponent was baiting him; however, he had little choice until he found his _Dark Hole_.   
He drew, laid the card face down in the Magic and Trap card zone as a bit of insurance, and then flipped his _Blue Eyes White Dragon_ face up along with his _Polymerization_, "I set one Card face down in my Magic and Card Zone. I switch my _Blue Eyes White Dragon_ to attack mode and fuse it with another _Blue Eyes White Dragon_ and _Versago the Destroyer _to summon the _Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon_!"   
Like before, a thunderous cry of the enormous creature shook the stadium and the rafters above his head. This cry, however, was split into a three-note chord as the trio of silvery, lithe necks shot from the matching rectangles on the field. They continued rising, higher and higher like a massive fountain of brilliant silver and sapphire. He could smell ozone on the air once again, but unlike before, there was no breath of fear nor instinctive step backward that would have telegraphed a panicked flight had they been on the ground. Shane - unlike the American he had Dueled before - was calm and looked more like he was scrutinizing a slightly fearsome artwork instead of a legendary, relentless, juggernaut of a dragon.   
Kaiba realized it was probably doomed.   
"_Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon_! Attack the _Magnet Valkyrions_!" Seto barked, pointing fervently at his opponent's monsters. When the attack was over, the twin androids were predictably absent save for the swirls of vaporized metal rising from where they had stood moments before. However, Shane's attitude and body language confirmed his dragon's fate even before the New Zealander's Life Points had finished their two-thousand-point descent.   
Shane barely managed to wait until it became his turn once again, he drew, shoved it into his hand without barely a pause to look at it, and slapped a card into the middle of his Magic and Trap Card Zone: "I play the Magic Card: _Dark Hole_!"   
A tiny, black grain of sand appeared on the field. The earth broke beneath its vast weight and its dark surface seeming to absorb the nearby light, plunging it into shadow. It then exploded into a massive, black thing and his monsters were suddenly being stretched and swirled about as though they were a child's toys that had been dropped into a toilet. Time seemed to slow as they became indistinct, stretched beyond all recognition. The _Dark Hole_ was slowly turning a brilliant, glowing silver around its edges before the matter plunged into its core. It paused like that for a heartbeat - incredibly beautiful and terrible all at once - and then collapsed inward, still glowing, and returning to the size of a grain of sand. It rose a couple meters above the Field and then vanished with a barely audible sigh.   
"And so goes the supposed _Ultimate Dragon_." Shane commented stoically, "But you know what they say, most things end in a whimper not a bang." He cleared his throat and began to chuckle, "Well. Since it's still my turn, I think I'll play my own _Blood Vors_ in attack mode! And - my, my - you have nothing to protect your Life Points. What a pity." The tone in his voice was scornful before he raised his voice, his face contorting into a severe mask of passion as he roared,_"Blood Vors_! Attack Kaiba's Life Points!"   
The beast warrior leveled its weapon and charged, its powerfully built legs moving like the pistons in a well-oiled machine. The distance between it and his platform closed with breathtaking swiftness.   
"Activate Trap!" Kaiba cried at the last possible second, flipping the trap card face up. The attack struck, the force of it driving a fierce wind up his platform that lashed his face and plastered his cobalt-colored shirt and leather coat to his chest. Energy arced its way up the metal and stood the hairs on the back of his neck on end. In spite of this, his Life Points remained untouched. "Trap Card: _Nullify Attack_. Your _Blood Vors_ attack is negated and your turn immediately ends."   
"Now _you're_ obviously the one who's stalling." Shane commented drolly once again, settling back into the chair that had been clamped to the lift. He leaned back and crossed his arms over the soft, black material of his lightweight turtle-neck, a smug grin plastered across his face.   
_ 'I have to start attacking seriously before he wears me out of my best cards.'_ He thought, drawing. He was rewarded with _Snatch Steal_, which sparked the genesis of a counter-offensive. Despite the maneuver he was concocting, Kaiba decided then and there that if he were inclined to make any wagers about the location of certain cards, he would bet half his fortune that some of his nastiest magic and trap cards were at the bottom of his deck. On the other hand, if Shane was beginning to tire, that meant he would probably make a costly mistake sooner or later. But first-off, he had no cards left in his hand at the moment that could get rid of that _Blood Vors_. "I play _Angel's Gift_, and draw two more cards." His draw was rewarded with _Monster Reborn _and _La Jinn The Mystical Genie of the Lamp_. He removed _Needle Worm_, _Vampire Lord_, and a _Shimmer Shield _he had drawn several turns ago and laid them in his discard pile. "I place the three cards in my Graveyard as required and use _Monster Reborn _to bring back one of my _Blue Eyes, White Dragons_!"   
The dragon screamed furiously as it appeared once more on the field. It reared high and outspread its wings as wide as they could go to steady itself. It lowered its head and glared at his opponent, hissing, roaring, and growling wordless promises of suffering and grief.   
He couldn't attack until next turn, and Shane knew it. He drew, shook his head, and waved him onward, "I can't do a bloody thing. Go."   
"_Blue Eyes White Dragon_! Attack _Blood Vors_!" Kaiba bellowed. After all the stupidity he'd put up with, he would cherish the _Blood Vors_' destruction. The dragon tossed its head, took aim, and spat its jet of white lightning, washing the field in a blinding radiance. Shane remained seated, his eyes calmly shut as the three strands of his bangs lashed his face furiously. Through watering eyes, Seto watched as the _Blood Vors_ melted away like wax under the ferocity of its attack and Shane's Life Points began dropping.   
_ 'Nine-Hundred. That's better.'_ Seto thought, grinning in satisfaction. Now that the Duel was well underway and the most annoying of Westfield's stall cards were exhausted, the Duel had become far more entertaining. He'd improved greatly since he'd last saw him, that much was certain.   
"Now that was a bit below the belt, Arsewipe." Shane commented nonchalantly at the sight of his Life Points, except a slight growl had crept back into his tone.   
"Suck it up, Looser!" Kaiba replied with a snarl, "This is only the beginning!"   
Shane's lip curled as he stood, "You're right, but if you're just starting now you've already lost. You're just too arrogant to realize it yet." He drew, smiled, and laid a card face-down on the field, "I set one monster in face down defense mode and play the Trap Card: _Time Seal_ and end my turn."   
It was difficult not to flinch as chains erupted from his side of the field, raced for the rafters high above his head, connected, and drew taunt. A massive scroll decorated with the kanji for "time" appeared briefly before his elevated interface before it faded. Below, on the other side of the field, a single square glowed with a iridescent yellow light to indicate the presence of a hidden monster.   
Seto rolled his eyes as Westfield sat back down and regarded the face-down monster through the maze of chains that bound his side of the field. The trap card forced him to skip his Draw Phase for a single turn so he went straight to deciding how to handle the Battle Phase. If he knew anything about his opponent it was probably another effect monster and would have either a search or recovery effect.   
"_Blue Eyes, White Dragon_! Attack the face-down card!" Like before, another _Critter_ vanished in a torrent of white light.   
As Shane was drawing and shuffling, he contemplated his own hand through a steady rain of steel-gray pixels as the chains disintegrated. He still had _Snatch Steal_, _Gift of the Mystical Elf_, and _La Jinn The Mystical Genie of the Lamp_; his English _Blue Eyes, White Dragon_ was out on the field and that was it. Seto was waiting for the right monster to use _Snatch Steal_ on and he wanted more than the six-hundred Life Points that _Gift of the Mystical Elf_ would give him if he played it with just two monsters on the field.   
As before, Westfield laid another card face-down on the field, "I set one monster in face down defense mode and end my turn."   
_ 'Another card. This time I bet it's a recovery. Though I could be wrong.'_ Kaiba deliberated. He drew and was finally rewarded with one of his more serious Magic Cards. He tucked his copy of _Heavy Storm_ into his hand and regarded the face-down monster. While he didn't want to provide Shane with a whole thousand Life Points, he was in need of a little recovery himself. Seto knew his opponent was holding out for his trump card now that his _Valkyrions_ were gone and he wanted to be prepared for when that happened.   
"I play the Magic Card, _Snatch Steal_, on that face down monster." Kaiba announced, his mouth dry. "I gain control for one turn and, in exchange, my opponent gets one-thousand Life Points during his Standby Phase."   
The glowing square faded away and reappeared next to his dragon. Shane's face-down card was scanned and the matching space on Kaiba's side glowed with the image of the back of a card. He tapped the upper, right hand edge, which would allow him a quick peek at the card. It flashed the card for only a split second and wouldn't allow a second glimpse, but now he knew that it was the _Magician of Faith_. He moved his finger to the lower, right hand corner and a helpful label proclaiming that the particular corner he had his fingertip on would flip the card face up when tapped. He tapped it, flipping the virtual card.   
A shapely young woman holding an ornate staff appeared in the lee of his dragon. White sparkles swirled and tumbled around her as an unseen wind stirred her wavy, brown ponytail and the silk of her magenta leggings and violet tunic. Kaiba dug into his Graveyard, found his _Monster Reborn_, and tucked it back into his hand.   
He smiled once more in a cruel parody of lightheartedness and announced, "And I'm going to end my turn right there. I have what I wanted."   
As the _Magician of Faith _evaporated into gently rising white sparks and reappeared in a rain of similar sparkles on the other side of the field, Shane looked genuinely nervous. He drew, tucked the card into his hand, and then turned the _Magician of Faith _back to face down, "I flip the _Magician of Faith _face down." Once again, white sparkles rose into the air and a competitor in this competition was digging into his Graveyard for a card.   
Kaiba eyed his _Gift of the Mystical Elf_. This was it. Next turn, he'd use it for a nine-hundred point boost. He had a feeling that Shane had his _Summoned Skull_ now and was using the _Magician of Faith_ to get one of his _Swords of Revealing Light_ back. He still hadn't found his _Dark Hole_ or any other cards he could take it out with, so he'd have to bluff once it was out. At the moment, _Heavy Storm_ was earmarked for Westfield's _Swords of Revealing Light_ whenever he played it.   
At the moment, Shane was looking apprehensive. Finally he laid a card in his Field Magic Zone, "I change the field to _Yami_ and end my turn."   
The field immediately darkened and became choked with deep shadows. Kaiba chuckled, but didn't fight the change that decreased his dragon's attack and defense by two-hundred points. He drew, tucked _Invitation to a Dark Sleep _into his hand with a gleeful smirk, and laid _La Jinn The Mystical Genie of the Lamp _face down and in defense mode, "I play one monster card face down and in defense mode as an "Easter Egg" - and since you're so predictable I play _Gift of the Mystical Elf _which will augment my Life Points by nine-hundred points."   
The _Mystical Elf_ rose behind his dragon, her gentle, mesmerizing voice chanting a healing spell. White sparkles rose up around him in a long spiral before she vanished as his Life Points began rising. His Life Points now safely back above three-thousand points, he settled back with crossed arms to watch Shane play his pathetic, little trump card.   
His opponent, however, had evidently bought into his bluff about an "Easter Egg" on the field for him. Westfield was a programmer and an accomplished hacker just like he was and would know what he meant. He was regarding the glowing space with a look that was clearly dread, though Seto was positive the audience wouldn't catch it unless one of the cameras zoomed in for a close-up of the blond Duelist. However, now that he had played _Yami_, he was - for all intents and purposes - committed.   
"I play the _Summoned Skull_!" Perhaps it was his accent, but he managed not to sound frightened. His face had changed back to the determined air he had displayed for most of the Duel, but the anxiety was showing in his dark eyes. "And with it I play _Dark Energy_ -" The Fiend on the field swelled as black lightning arced and swirled over it's body, muscles twitching and veins throbbing visibly. "- and the _Sword of Dark Destruction_ to boost. . ."   
His voice trailed off as the dark blade spun to the ground and imbedded its tip in the earth at the Demon's feet. He licked his lips nervously as his gaze shifted once more from his demon to the glowing, iridescent space. Kaiba smiled irreverently as the evil sword was drawn and held in a low "guard" position. Impatient, though not showing it, he uncrossed his arms long enough to beckon him to finish his sentence. Westfield glared across the field at him; the anger clearly resolving his uncertainty. The_ Summoned Skull_'s attack strength was now at thirty-four hundred, only one-hundred points less than his _Magnet Valkyrion_'s thanks to the three cards enhancing it.   
"_Summoned Skull_!" He screamed abruptly and as loudly as he could, making Kaiba visibly flinch along with most of the audience. "Attack!"   
The Fiend bounded high above the holographic arena, dim light gleaming off the blade of the sword. With a flash, it sliced through the Dragon's neck. As it landed and dropped to one knee, the beheaded dragon's head tumbled to the ground as its corpse limply collapsed.   
Kaiba squeezed his eyes shut.   
"_'One, two! One, two! And through and through the vorpal blade went snicker-snack! He left it dead, and with its head he went galumphing back.'_ " Shane recited dramatically, his intonation somehow adding to the statement as the _Summoned Skull _lifted the enormous head triumphantly aloft a moment before the dragon's corpse disintegrated with a crash into a flurry of triangular shards.   
Kaiba snorted as he drew, but the sound was forced. He loathed watching that animation; frankly he hated seeing any of his dragons defeated but that was especially painful to watch. The loss of four-hundred Life Points wasn't that bad, but the animation left him feeling vaguely ill. In a way, _Dark Hole_ was far easier to watch, it was so terrible in its dark beauty that it seemed to transition perfectly between the majestic radiance of the white dragon. He glanced at the card he had drawn, _Gadget Soldier_. He decided it wasn't bad, but it wasn't one of the cards he really wanted. Then his eyes leveled on the _Magician of Faith_. The critical mistake was right there. It had been there for a couple turns. Shane would get to draw another Magic Card, but she was only face down, not in Defense Mode. An attack on her would drop Westfield's Life Points by fifteen-hundred, leaving him at a miserable four-hundred Life Points.   
"I play _Gadget Soldier_ in attack mode!" He announced, not bothering to truly raise his voice. The boxy, gold and silver robot appeared on the field and shouldered its long, green rocket launcher. The giant, golden gear around its left shoulder and the polished metal of its streamlined helmet gleamed even in the muted light that leaked through the deep shadows that still covered the field. "_Gadget Soldier_! Attack the _Magician of Faith_!"   
It dropped to one knee and took aim. Shane's eyes grew large. He probably was realizing his error and how few Life Points that would leave him with. However, it was too late. Fire belched out the exhaust of the rocket launcher an instant before the fiery bolt shot from the barrel. It struck the glowing space before his eyes registered that it had covered the entire length of the field and he caught the briefest glimpse of the young, female, magic-user recoiling before she vanished in a swirl of flame and smoke.   
"I guess all was not mimsy with the borogoves." Kaiba mused, staring malevolently at Shane from under his bangs. He crossed his arms over his chest and waited for his opponent to make his next move.   
To his delight, Westfield appeared visibly shaken. His hand was trembling as he drew, his eyes darting from his Fusion deck to the glowing, iridescent space that his hidden _La Jinn_ still occupied. No doubt he wanted to bring out one of his Fusion monsters and get rid of that diabolical, little "Easter Egg" he'd left for him.   
Shane's mouth mashed itself in a firm, straight line. He dropped his entire hand into the Graveyard. His voice was weary as he announced, "I discard five cards from my hand and play the Magic Card: _Final Destiny_ to destroy all monsters on the field."   
The field was bathed in a red light and swirls of smoke wreathed the field. It hung for a moment before the field and their monsters suddenly vanished beneath the angry, writhing smoke and flames of a mushroom cloud.   
Seto began to laugh as the cloud rose to the rafters before it faded, he moved _Gadget Soldier_ and _La Jinn_ to his Graveyard. He knew Westfield could see his interface on the upper display as though it was only a foot away, he now knew that the "Easter Egg" had only been _La Jinn The Mystical Genie of the Lamp_. The blond's eyes had grown even larger and his mouth had dropped open.   
"_La Jinn_?!" He heard Westfield squeak in disbelief over the noise of the crowd above them as the giant screen showed them what Shane had seen in his upper display.   
It took him a second to control his laughter before he could snicker, "An "Easter Egg?" I guess I've been proven wrong: That play was _obviously_ a goose egg."   
"Sod off, Bastard." Shane whispered brusquely, his voice was shaking with fury. His hands had balled themselves into fists that he couldn't reopen. His legs, however, had lost the will to support him. He backed up into his chair and irately yanked it forward on its extension clamp. "Fucking hell . . ."   
He was still laughing as his Draw Phase finally unearthed his _Meteor Strike_. Seto smirked and laid _Invitation to a Dark Sleep _face down and in defense mode. "I play one card in face down, defense mode and end my turn."   
Westfield was shaking with badly controlled fury, still fuming that he had destroyed his trump card under the conclusion that the face-down _La Jinn_ had been something truly devastating. He drew and slapped it down onto the Field Magic Card zone, "I change the field to _Fusion Gate_ and end my turn."   
The field began to writhe and warp, as though the air had turned super-hot. The hologram of the rocky terrain that they been playing on wavered and bucked. With a breathtaking swiftness, the color and texture of the ground lifted free to float amid dark wisps of churning fog; leaving only the faint lines of the framework that made up the geometry. The lines brightened to a brilliant emerald, but the air continued to waver as though super-heated.   
Kaiba's smirk broadened as drew - he ignored the card, the Duel was almost over anyway. "I choose not to attack." He commented in a cruelly cheerful pitch, "Your turn!"   
Shane drew once more and again slapped it right down onto the field, "I play the Magic Card: _Pot of Greed_ and draw two more cards." His shaking hand pulled two more cards off the top of his deck. "I lay one monster card in face down, defense mode and end my turn."   
Kaiba drew once more, and tucked his _Kaizer Seahorse_ into his hand. He was relishing Shane's discomfiture. "I still choose not to attack - your turn!"   
Shane drew once more, sighed in a mixture of relief and exhaustion. "I choose to fuse the _Red Eyes Black Dragon_ with the _Meteor Dragon_ to summon the _Black Meteor Dragon_."   
There was a scream of a massive reptile as a torrent of flame coiled and writhed on Westfield's side of the field. Slowly the flames receded to reveal the dragon. Deep violet scales shimmered in the half-light of the _Fusion Gate_ and blood-red tracings seemed to pulse with their own, deep light.   
"And play the Magic Card: _Last Battle!_ I choose to enter my _Black Meteor Dragon _and discard the rest of my hand to the Graveyard."   
Kaiba smirked and shook his head. _Last Battle!_ would end the Duel with a final Battle Phase and the last one standing would win - regardless of Life Points. He laid _Monster Reborn _on the field and placed the rest of the cards on his Graveyard pile. "I play _Monster Reborn_, returning my _Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon_ to the field and discard my remaining hand. I also move my Face Down monster to the Graveyard."   
As the trio of lithe, muscular necks once more erupted from the field like ethereal fountains of pure silver, Shane's head had bowed. His eyes were clenched tightly shut, his face a gray and miserable. There was a five-hundred point difference between the two monsters. Exactly one-hundred points than he had to loose even without the Duel-ending card, _Last Battle!_ His right hand hovered over his deck.   
Seto glowered across the field at his opponent. This whole duel and the idiot was about to forfeit. All that wasted effort when the coward could have saved him the trouble and let six o'clock come and go without showing. All that planning, impromptu alterations to established tactics, all those calculating pauses, and he was going to surrender.   
It was decidedly anticlimactic and disappointing in a way that threatened the change the faint ill-feeling he'd gotten watching the _Summoned Skull_ behead his dragon into true nausea.   
"Go ahead," He growled, his voice sinking to a hushed, smoldering tone. "Forfeit. Give up and show the world what a spineless coward you are. I'm disappointed in you, Shan. I was actually beginning to think you were worth my time."   
Westfield's head lifted suddenly to gaze at his opponent. His hand dropped into his lap and then rose again to rake his fingers through his hair and rub his eyes, sighing heavily. He unsteadily got back to his feet. His voice cracked as he raised his voice sharply, "_Black Meteor Dragon_ . . ."   
Kaiba snorted a quick laugh at the sound of his opponent's cracking voice, feeling slightly better. "_Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon_ . . ."   
The blond held up his right hand, using his fingers to count down from three without speaking. Kaiba took a deep breath as Shane did the same.   
"_ATTACK!_" 


End file.
